Dear 2014, Thank you. Thank you for teaching me a thing or two. For confirming that my gut is always, always, ALWAYS right, and that good things happen when I listen to it and bad things happen when I don't.

Before we blink we will be swept up into the busyness of a brand new shiny year. Before diving in, take a bit of time to reflect to properly bid adieu to 2014 and say hello to 2015. So in your year-end reflection, don't Grinch yourself out of recalling and celebrating what went well in 2014.

I've come to learn that the best parenting I can offer at certain times is to give myself a time out. This gets significantly easier as my kids get older. It's when I realize that my kids are being kids and sometimes that just means loud craziness and it's me who needs some down time.

Three remarkable events from the past year stand out from my perspective as the head of an international development agency. All made headlines at the time, but those headlines merely touched the surface of the events' profound ramifications as we look forward to 2014.

Last week's Summer Solstice marked the time of year when the sun reaches its most northern position, resulting in our longest days with the most sunlight we'll experience all year. It's also the halfway mark in our calendar year -- midsummer -- making it a perfect time to check in on those resolutions we made way back in the short, dark days of January.

We spend much of our mental energy beating ourselves up for the things we are not, for the times we have failed or disappointed ourselves. I think we could put that energy to far better use by changing the focus to find some things we are proud of.

When was the last time you did a check-in with yourself? I think sometimes we are so busy thinking about the world around us that we forget to reflect on and nurture ourselves. Now, I don't mean go get yourself a Cosmo or a new pair of shoes kind of nurture; I'm talking about the moments when we really examine ourselves.